Posts Tagged ‘Las Vegas Motor Speedway crash’

A fiery crash takes the life of Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and brings the IndyCar race in Las Vegas to a halt. Photo courtesy The Las Vegas Journal-Review.

Sunday’s tragic 15-car accident that killed race car driver Dan Wheldon has many people calling for changes to make the race safer. NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson even said that the cars should stop racing on ovals.

But it’s not the tracks that are the problem. It’s the cars. IndyCar needs to take radical steps to make the cars safer.

Wheldon was caught up in a massive wreck on the 11th lap of IndyCar’s final race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His car rolled up on another car, launching it into the catch fence.

Safety First!

Johnson told The Associated Press that while the cars are great on street circuits and road courses, IndyCars should stop running on the high-speed ovals where they reach speeds of more than 230 mph.

“I don’t know how they can really do it,” Johnson said. “Myself, I have a lot of friends that race in that series, and I’d just rather see them on street circuits and road courses. No more ovals.”

But the series’ namesake – the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – is the type of high-speed track where the cars generate such dangerous speed. Ovals have long been a part of the sport and they’re not likely to leave them.